Monday, September 29, 2014

the campaign trail - 29 sep

I'm running in the upcoming state election in the upper house seat of Eastern Metropolitan. It's been another busy week on the campaign trail. This week includes updates on:- Greens support Doncaster Rail- Greens support Knox call for action on Rowville Rail- Yes to Doncaster Rail badges prove popular at the Park & Ride- Greens support a Great Forest National Park- We support Doncaster Rail meeting coming up- Greens say legal aid surplus should be directed back into services- Animals Matter rally, coming up Saturday 4 Oct in Melbourne

Friday, September 26, 2014

samantha in the press

(Note: Should either of us be successfully elected it is highly unlikely it will be a hit to council's budget due to the amount of people who choose not to vote and end up with fines, it's more likely that it will be income positive)

Sunday, September 14, 2014

five big public transport questions for the east

Five big public transport questions for the east

Thursday,
11 September 2014

Voters in Melbourne’s east
have rated improved public transport as a key election issue and candidates
need to clearly detail how they will address the big questions, the Eastern
Transport Coalition said today.

According to the Victorian
Auditor General's report, Coordinating Public Transport, public transport services
in Melbourne are poorly coordinated and many deficiencies in the network remain
despite being identified by successive governments over the years.

ETC chairperson, Cr Peter
Lockwood said public transport funding has been inadequate to meet current
commuter demand in parts of the eastern suburbs, and at current levels, will
not keep up with the needs of a growing city.

The ETC has been running
campaigns, Commuters Count and Better Buses, to support increased funding and
better services.

After talking to and
listening to the views of voters in the east for the last year we know that the
five most important questions are:

1. Do you or your party
support the construction of a rail line to Rowville and will you support a budget
allocation in the next four years to advance planning for a rail line to Rowville?

2. Do you or your party
support the construction of a rail line to Doncaster and will you support a budget
allocation in the next four years to advance planning for a rail line to Doncaster?

4. Do you, or your
political party support increased funding for buses to allow more kilometres and a greater
span of hours than currently exist?

5. Will you, or your
political party support the renewal and improvement in public transport interchanges
such as Box Hill and Huntingdale in the next four years?

“The Eastern
Suburbs Transport Poll, which the ETC conducted in February found that 64 per cent of
residents rated improving and expanding public transport as a top or very high
priority,” Cr Lockwood said.

“We have also been hearing
about the needs of commuters through our Better Buses Survey and Commuters
Count video challenge and are keen to hear more before the competition closes
on September 24.”

Cr Lockwood said the
parties needed to answer these five critical questions regarding the future
planning for public transport in the east to give voters a clear idea of what they
stand for prior to the November State Election.

sherbrooke plants more seeds

A
program educating young children about sustainable living as been named a
finalist in the Premier’s Sustainability Awards

Seedlings:
Sustainability in the Early Years has been developed and piloted by five
Councils, including the Yarra Ranges.

Preschool
Development Officer Claire Rock said the program integrated sustainability into
everyday activities that children and their families were engaged with.

“It
helps them see sustainability as a way of life,” she said.

The
Seedlings framework helps educators
meet the national learning frameworks that govern early years.

It
has involved 60 services including maternal and child health centres,
playgroups, Family Day Care, long day care, preschools and integrated services
across Yarra Ranges, Knox City Council, City of Port Philip, City of Melbourne
and Alpine Shire Government.

Earlier days at Sherbrooke Children's Centre, I'velong been a strong supporter of children andchildren's services, such great news that SCChas made the finalists list.

Sherbrooke
Family and Children’s Centre was one of Yarra Ranges 12 services who
participated in the Seedlings Pilot.Through the program Sherbrooke implemented a range of sustainable
practices such as a permaculture make over with 70 fruit trees planted in the
children’s playspace, implementation of a compostable nappy system and
introduction of a worm farm and clothing swap initiatives.

Yarra
Ranges councillor Samantha Dunn said the program aimed to broaden participant
understanding that sustainability was more than just the “green stuff”.

“It’s
a wholistic approach focusing on all aspects of sustainability including social,
environmental, political, economic and cultural,” Cr Dunn said.

About Me

It's a great honour and privilege to serve the people of the Lyster Ward. I was voted onto council in 2005 and have been re-elected twice since with a Greens record 58.93% primary vote in 2012. I'm passionate about the community and I enjoy working with them to shape an even better future. This term on council I will be representing the various township groups in Lyster, Belgrave Hub Project Steering Committee Birdsland Advisory Committee, Burrinja, Eastern Regional Libraries Corp, Eastern Transport Coalition, Fire Management Committee, Graffiti Working Group and the Municipal Emergency Management Committee. In 2009 I was elected as Chairperson of the Eastern Transport Coalition and continue to serve in that role. In 2011 I was elected President of the Victorian Local Governance Association after serving two years as Treasurer. In Dec 2013 I stood down as President as I was preselected to run for the Greens in Eastern Metropolitan in the 2014 state election. IMAGES FROM THIS BLOGSITE MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED OR REPUBLISHED WITHOUT PERMISSION, if you wish to use an image just ask by emailing samantha.dunn@vic.greens.org.au. ANONYMOUS AND/OR OFFENSIVE COMMENTS WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED.